Labeling Theory: What Does This Trend In Sociology Consist Of?
Within sociology there are many currents and theories that try to explain human relationships from different points of view.
One of the ones that has acquired the most popularity in recent times is labeling theory Let’s discover how this thought arises and what are the implications of the postulates it raises.
The theory of labeling, or labeling theory, is one of the currents exposed within the sociology of deviance (the part of sociology that studies social conventions and norms) whose foundation lies in the fact that The deviation from the norm would not be linked to the act itself, but rather to the fact that the person who carried it out belongs to a minority and therefore the social majority automatically labels it as negative, because they consider that they move away from common norms.
This is a theory that emerged in the 60s of the last century. One of the pioneers in labeling theory would be Howard Becker. This author, after carrying out numerous investigations on interactions between social groups, concludes that deviation from the norm is not a quality that can be attributed to behavior but is given by the social majority, which would dictate a series of norms and apply the corresponding sanctions if someone violates them.
In this case, The sanction would be to classify the fact as a deviation from the norm and therefore, the one who exercises it, as a deviant (outsider is the original term used in English). Therefore, a deviant behavior is deviant because it is established by a majority group with respect to the minority that exercises it, and that is perceived as negative by others because of it.
Self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotypes
To a certain extent, the labeling theory would be drawing on two concepts widely used in Psychology, such as stereotypes and self-fulfilling prophecy. The first refers to those generalizations we make to attribute certain characteristics to a person just because they belong to a certain group while the second refers to the mechanism by which what we think is going to happen often happens, because we facilitate it to happen.
The social majority group would be using stereotypes regarding the people they label in minority groups, so that they automatically attribute to them a series of characteristics, generally negative, because we have already seen that they consider them transgressors of the norms that must be respected. comply, because that is what they, who represent the majority of that population, dictate.
In the case of the self-fulfilling prophecy, it would take place in the following way. Members of the majority anticipate that an individual belonging to a minority (relative to them) will commit a transgression of a norm As social norms are given by them, who are the majority, compared to minority groups, it happens that the behavior that the individual performs differs from what is considered normative, so, effectively, for them what they anticipated has been fulfilled.
Types of deviation
One of the great contributions to labeling theory is that made by Edwin Lemert, a prominent sociologist, who established the differentiation between two types of deviations from the norm: primary and secondary. This classification offers a deeper perspective of the theory by allowing us to discriminate between two very different ways of perceiving non-compliance with a norm
On the one hand, primary deviation or main deviation would be alluding to that type of behavior that a person performs and that would be transgressing a certain norm, but it would not be enough for him to be considered a “deviant” (using the term referring to the norm), nor for others to consider him that way.
What the main deviation is referring to is that breach of the norm that can be carried out by any person, whether or not belonging to the majority group, but which does not imply a tendency, that is, that This is an isolated incident and therefore does not reflect his usual attitude, so one would not have an anticipated negative view of this person
On the other hand, there would be secondary deviation, which would refer to all behavior contrary to the norm that would lead to the author being labeled as deviating from the norm by the majority of the population, which would also generate in the person a different perception of himself. itself, a product of said labeling that others make of it, so it has very important implications, since the individual himself experiences a change in self-perception
It is here, with the concept of secondary deviation, where the theory of labeling would have to do with stigmas, understood as a negative cataloging that a population carries out on an individual. This is a concept defined by Erving Goffman, another of the most prominent authors in Sociology of the mid-20th century so he can be considered another of the fathers of labeling theory.
The issue of stigma is very important, because it is so powerful that it becomes more relevant than the person themselves, in such a way that once the person deviates from the norm and acquires a certain label, each person will be judged. of the acts he carries out from that moment through that stigma that has been assigned to him, causing continued social rejection.
Criminology
Labeling theory has great relevance in many criminology studies since stigma, through the mechanism of self-fulfilling prophecy that we had seen previously, can cause the person to be pigeonholed and act as they have been classified, in the case of criminology, as a criminal.
This process can occur due to the rejection given by those who define themselves as the majority, so the individual may go on to seek the approval of other individuals who, like him, share the category of criminals, encouraging these behaviors to be repeated in the future. This is a theory proposed by sociologist Robert King Merton.
This circle of stigma occurs in many other areas, not only with criminal behavior. For this reason, it is important to stop and think about the power of the labels that we continually put on, because we may be causing, without being aware of it, that some people fall into bad habits due to a disproportionate rejection that a specific behavior has caused us. causing it to reproduce, which is just the opposite of what we would actually like to happen.
In fact, Many crime prevention programs are based on reversing this vicious circle trying to destroy the labels that many people have received, promoting behaviors to repair the behavior that caused the loop, and working so that both the self-concept that the individual has and the concept that society has of him, evolves towards another that leaves behind the negative aspect that had been assigned to him and that was so difficult for him to abandon.
Psychological disorders
Another of the areas where the phenomenon of stigmatization due to secondary deviation has historically occurred the most, according to the terminology of labeling theory, would be in everything related to psychological pathologies. Many of these disorders entail a series of behaviors that cause social rejection, whether due to fear, ignorance or other reasons, causing the isolation of these people, who suffer doubly from their illness, for this reason.
The first author to refer to this problem was Thomas J. Scheff through his publication Being mentally ill, where he states that the label of mentally ill is placed by society itself, and not by the psychological pathology itself. The problem is that by pigeonholing the person with the name of the corresponding disease, they are already predisposed to behave in a certain way, causing, once again, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Seeing the repercussions that the use of these terms can have on people’s lives, it would be important for us all to know in depth the mechanisms of labeling theory in order to minimize the effects that we can unconsciously produce when using labels that become stigmas. . We make up society among all individuals, so It is a shared responsibility to ensure the well-being of all fellow humans
